List of 24 Hours of Le Mans fatalities - Wikipedia As the Austin-Healey moved across the road, Levegh raised his hand. Mike Hawthorn celebrating the 1955 Le Mans victory despite causing the deadliest accident in history of racing. Rassembler, slectionner et commenter vos fichiers. "I felt the heat of his exhaust as he went by me, no more than three feet over my shoulder. This would be unbelievably flippant today. When he finally made it into the pits again, past what was then the scene of the crash, tears were streaming down his face. 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Organise, control, distribute, and measure all of your digital content. The next round of the World Sportscar Championship at the Nrburgring was cancelled, as was the non-championship Carrera Panamericana. Waiting until 1:45 am, when many spectators had left, he stepped onto the track and quietly called his cars into the pits, at the time running first and third. Entering the straight, his Matra veered off the inside of the track and exploded into flames. The Worst Accident in Motorsports History (1955 Le Mans Disaster) - YouTube 0:00 / 2:27 Sign in to confirm your age This video may be inappropriate for some users. [36], The official government inquiry into the accident called officials, drivers, and team personnel to be questioned and give evidence. [14] Levegh's lifeless body, severely burned, lay in full view on the pavement until a gendarme hauled down a banner to cover it. The Mercedes crashed into the embankment that bordered the track, killing Levegh instantly. Below is that interview in full. I should say that the 'pits' were completely undivided from the racetrack back then. On that date, the Ministry of the Interior released new regulations for racing events and codified the approval process that future racing events would need to follow. Both Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz issued official statements, mainly in self-defense against the accusations leveled against them and their drivers. He lost control of the car three hours later in the early morning whilst approaching the Arnage esses and veered off the track on the left side and collided with an oak tree, killing the driver almost instantly with massive head and chest injuries. Car and engine bits struck the crowd as there was only a 4 foot bank between spectators and cars traveling up to 170 MPH due to a lack of safety standards. The opening hours were a fast and furious affair with drivers battling for early supremacy. With two other drivers still in the race, Mercedes-Benz continued, but after so many calls for them to abandon the meeting and with the desire to avoid a PR disaster, they pulled out of the race in the wee hours of the morning and went home. The media also speculated on the violent fire that engulfed the wreck, which intensified when fire marshals poured their water-based extinguishers on the flames. There had been claims that when Lafosse attempted to make up for lost time, either suspension or tyre failure caused the car to veer off suddenly into the barrier.[2][30][31]. [8] Coming out of the Maison Blanche portion of the course, he rapidly caught Lance Macklin in his Austin Healey 100S, who had seen him and moved over to the right to let him pass. The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race, when a crash caused large fragments of racing car debris to fly into the crowd. 63 1955 Le Mans Disaster Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Images Editorial Video Creative Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 63 1955 LE MANS DISASTER Premium High Res Photos Browse 63 1955 LE MANS DISASTER stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. When the rest of Levegh's car landed on the embankment, the rear-mounted fuel tank exploded. Extricating the Dead and Dying. That said, many contemporary race reports treat the crash unbelievably mildly. The horror of the crash caused some drivers present, including Americans Fitch (after completing the season with Mercedes), Phil Walters (who had been offered a drive with Ferrari for the rest of the season[2]), and Sherwood Johnston, to retire from racing. Filmmaker Quentin Baillieux paints a picture of sport and tragedy at Circuit de la Sarthe. The most recent death is Allan Simonsen, who died in the race of 2013. The 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 23rd 24 Hours of Le Mans and took place on 11 and 12 June 1955 on Circuit de la Sarthe.It was also the fourth round of the F.I.A. Despite expectations for the race to be red-flagged and stopped entirely, race officials, led by race director Charles Faroux, kept the race running. Hawthorn!")[28][3]. He took the racing name Pierre Levegh [lvk] in memory of his uncle, a pioneering driver who died in 1904. Bodies were strewn throughout the stands The majority of the dead were French, with the numbers injured running into the hundreds. However, an inopportune press photograph showed Hawthorn smiling on the podium swigging from the victors bottle of champagne. The action was still unresolved when Hawthorn was killed in a non-racing crash on the Guildford bypass in 1959, ironically while overtaking a Mercedes-Benz in his Jaguar. The car rolled over during the incident. In the middle as many as 130 died in the most horrific disaster in motorsports history. 312 Le Mans 1955 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images CREATIVE EDITORIAL All Sports Entertainment News Archival Browse 312 le mans 1955 stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Le Mans 1955 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Jaguar driver Duncan Hamilton, and a teammate of Hawthorn, watched the tragedy unfold from the pit wall. John Fitch, Levegh's American co-driver, had suited up and was ready to take over the car at the upcoming pit stop, and was standing with Levegh's wife Denise Bouillin. Hawthorn and Bueb won the race by an easy margin of five laps from Aston Martin. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. The investigation zeroed in on Hawthorns attempt to overtake British driver Lance Macklins Austin Healey and a sudden catastrophic decision to pit. There were two key factors regarding the track layout at that time first, there was no designated deceleration lane for cars coming into the pits, and second, that just before the main straight, there was a very slight right-hand kink in the road just after which Hawthorn started braking. Flying metal following the explosion killed some 80 and injured many spectators. Fitch explained that he only got an idea of how bad things were when he overheard a journalist friend of his reporting news that some 65 people were reported dead. NOJ393 after its restoration by Steve Pike and before its sale at auction by Bonhams. 1955 Le Mans disaster - Wikipedia [15][16], Prior to the crash, the car was involved in a previous incident with partial damage to the front bodywork, as photographic evidence shows. D-Type Jaguars won the Le Mans 24hr endurance race in 1955, 1956 and 1957. June 11, 2020 Behind these fleeing spectators is the scene where many were killed when hit by flying pieces of the racer which exploded after crashing into a retaining wall. The crash was right in front of a densely packed crowd and grandstands, protected by nothing more than a few hay bales. Macklin claimed that Hawthorns move to the pits was sudden, causing an emergency that led him to swerve into Leveghs path. The death of the spectators was blamed on inadequate safety standards for the track design. At the time of his mistake, the Mercedes were running 2 and 3 twenty-five miles behind the Talbot! (AP Photo), Spectators flee the searing flames of a smashed Mercedes racing car after an accident at Le Mans, France, endurance race which killed more than 80 persons, June 11, 1955. It commemorates the deadliest accident in motorsport history, which took place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans race on June 11, 1955. On the other hand: damn those Jaguar D-types look nice. Shortly after midnight Mercedes retired its cars from racing were running first and third. He had just lapped Levegh (running sixth) after Arnage (one of the corners of the race track) and was determined to keep Fangio at bay as long as possible. Le Mans 1955 Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images At a gathering for his 92nd birthday, Mercedes driver John Fitch explained just how little the drivers knew. [9][14], The critical kink in the road put the car on a direct trajectory toward the packed terraces and grandstand. Le Mans, France: The wreckage of the death car and bodies of some of the victims felled by the explosion on Saturday. Footage of the 1955 Le Mans Disaster. . Fangio never raced at Le Mans again. He recalled: "The scene on the other side of the road was indescribable. . Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, and Mike Hawthorn were household names in the fifties with the marquee manufacturers of Ferrari, Jaguar along with Mercedes Benz all throwing resources at claiming the crown. In the days after the disaster, several explanations were offered by Faroux for this course of action. The dead and dying were everywhere; the cries of pain, anguish, and despair screamed catastrophe. Search instead in Creative? At the time, it took over six hours for the team to withdraw its cars. Other bodies are scattered near the picket fence where the Mercedes racer crashed. (AP Photo/Jacques Marqueton), Spectators flee the searing flames of a smashed Mercedes racing car after an accident at Le Mans, France, endurance race which killed more than 80 persons, June 11, 1955. Parcourez 176photos et images disponibles de. Search instead in. Future British F1 champion Mike Hawthorn drove for Jaguar and then-F1 champion Fangio drove for Mercedes, along with British phenom Stirling Moss, American John Fitch, and Frenchman Pierre Levegh. Collect, curate and comment on your files. One spectator actually recorded the crash head-on. Le Mans, France: Rescue workers pursue the grim task of extricating . The official inquiry held none of the drivers specifically responsible and criticised the layout of the 30-year-old track, which had not been designed for cars as fast as those involved in the crash. Norman Dewis ventured the opinions that Macklins move around Hawthorn was careless and that Levegh was not competent to meet the demands of driving at the speeds the 300SLR was capable of. 1955 Le Mans Disaster killed 84 people plus nearly 180 injuries when a driver slowed to make a pit stop causing the cars around him to serve. Levegh's Mercedes flipped into the air and struck the sandbank at the side of the track. Fifty-nine years ago, the 1955 Le Mans 24-hour race started like any other. The car, lying on the track, was then hit by the Ferrari of, As the car was thrown off balance over the hump on the. What stands out in these pictures is the confusion. Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. My instant reaction when he did it was, 'Bloody Mike Hawthorn, he must be out of his mind!' He was among the dead. Chief engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut had gone to the Jaguar pits to ask if the Jaguar team would respond in kind, out of respect for the crash victims. The rest of the 1955 World Sportscar Championship season was completed, with the remaining two races at the British RAC Tourist Trophy and the Italian Targa Florio, although they were not run until September and October, several months after the catastrophe. Le mans 1955 hi-res stock photography and images - Alamy He wrote a book saying so, and Macklin then sued Hawthorn for libel. Hawthorn and his co-driver Ivor Bueb won the race the next afternoon. Another 120 were "maimed," according to current writing, though initial news stories estimated around 70. Going into the second hour, Castellotti started dropping back, but Hawthorn and Fangio continued the duel, swapping the lead and dropping the lap record further and further, lapping most of the field.[4][5]. [Warning: graphic content]. [14][18] When he got to the media centre to use a telephone, he got his first inkling of the sheer enormity of the disaster, overhearing a reporter filing that 48 deaths were already confirmed. The action was still unresolved when Hawthorn was killed in a non-racing crash on the Guildford bypass in 1959, coincidentally while overtaking a Mercedes-Benz in his Jaguar. Bueb in particular was very reluctant, but given Hawthorn's condition had no choice, as Dewis firmly pointed out to him.[3]. - Maybe that's what makes these pictures still so very chilling. In the United States, the American Automobile Association (AAA) dissolved their Contest Board that had been the primary sanctioning body for motorsport in the US (including the Indianapolis 500) since 1904. Search instead in Creative? [41] In December 2011, the car, estimated to raise 800,000 before the auction,[41] was sold for 843,000. At the 24 Hueres Du Mans in July 1955, the inevitable finally happened. The 1955 Le Mans disaster was a major crash that occurred on 11 June 1955 during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. 77 deaths at Le Mans | Motor sport | The Guardian Modern race cars have fuel cells which keep fuel from spreading as it did here, and they don't use magnesium like they did then, either. One of the main shortcomings of the Circuit de la Sarthe as at the period of the disaster was that there were no barriers between the pit stop and the racecourse, and every sudden pit stop by a driver was a heart in the mouth moment as any minor collision could result in something fatal. However, a press photograph showed Hawthorn smiling on the podium drinking from the victor's bottle of champagne. Le Mans, France: Rescue workers pursue the grim task of extricating . Additional details emerged when the stills reviewed by Frre were converted to video form. The deadliest crash ever in motor sports history happened in Le Mans, France, on June 12, 1955. Last year, Aston Martin GT driver Allan Simonsen died when he crashed into an insufficiently protected tree. The dead and dying were everywhere; the cries of pain, anguish, and despair screamed catastrophe. 776 60 60 comments Best Add a Comment You have accepted push notifications for this content. At first you can see people running from the fire. I am including all of his pictures preserved by the AP, as well as all of the photographs taken by the AP itself. In 1955 Mercedes offered Levegh the opportunity to race with John Fitch in their 300SLR sports car. [43] It was then restored to its original condition.[44]. The weather had closed in on Sunday morning and there was no victory celebration. The 1955 Le Mans disaster occurred during the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race, when a crash caused large parts of racing car debris to fly into the crowd. It was only ten years after the end of WWII, and dead bodies in the French countryside was fresh in everyone's memory. In total, two drivers died in the 1920s, another two in the 1930s, one in the 1940s, five in the 1950s, six in the 1960s, two in the 1970s, two in the 1980s, one in the 1990s, none in the 2000s, and one in the 2010s. The circuit goes through a dedicated section of the racing track too. In terms of human toll, it is the most catastrophic accident in motorsports history. Even then, it took hours for that Mercedes boss to reach his superiors and get their approval to withdraw their cars. The alloy burst into white-hot flames, showering the track and crowd with magnesium embers, made worse by rescue workers unfamiliar with magnesium fires who poured water onto the inferno, greatly intensifying the fire. And the car's magnesium body burst into flames like a torch, burning others to death.. If you would like to manage your push notification preferences, you can do so here. I stood as if in a dream, too horrified to even think., Mike Hawthorn and the Jaguar team kept racing. (In English, "To your health ('Cheers'), Mr. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Years later Fitch claimed, based on his own recollection and from what he heard from others, that Hawthorn had caused it. We may earn a commission from links on this page. [36] Tertre Rouge was moved about 200m and new tyre barriers were installed at the exit in 2014. I'll try and give an explanation of how it happened, why so many people died, and why the organizers didn't cancel the race after the crash. While all of this unfolded, the race continued. [25] In the end the enquiry ruled that no specific driver was responsible for the crash, and that it was merely a terrible racing incident. Browse 265 le mans 1955 stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Other observers estimated the toll to be much higher. It was a sort of victory for motorsports somehow, a pyrrhic victory, albeit. The circuit at Le Mans is incredibly long, and information was even more sparse away from the immediate vicinity of the crash. [15][8], Macklin, on reading Hawthorn's 1958 autobiography, Challenge Me the Race, was embittered when he found that Hawthorn now disclaimed all responsibility for the crash without identifying who had caused it. Le Mans, France: The wreckage of the death car and bodies . Two hours later, photographers captured priests performing last rites. [42] The car retained the original engine SPL 261-BN,[41] but was reported to be in 'barn find' condition. These roads are not predictable and can have so many unforeseen dangers. Having achieved that, Mercedes withdrew from motorsport. "He came alongside me, and I gave him the thumbs-up sign as he overtook me to wish him luck. However, there was a return to the sport in the '90s. The images may be black and white but even the faded frames of a tragedy 65 years ago still pack a powerful punch. Life reported that it was days before drivers put together exactly what happened and the public at large learned the gravity of the crash. In other racing events where a car's ability is based on how fast it moves and in record time, this is a test of car reliability. That was the exact number of spectators killed during the Le Mans disaster. 'The hood decapitated tightly jammed spectators like a guillotine': Le The 1955 Le Mans disaster of 11th June 1955 during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. There was the inevitable finger-pointing as to whose fault this event was, but everyone was absolved of blame after a thorough investigation.
